Former Armidale priest back in court

A barrister has told Armidale Local Court online comments made about a former priest facing multiple child sexual abuse allegations amount to "a threat to kill".

Barrister Peter Hamill, SC appeared for the Defendant, who's been charged with nearly 140 counts of alleged abuse against 10 children in the 1970s and 1980s at various locations in Moree, Narrabri, Inverell and Armidale.

Mr Hamill tendered evidence of blog posts, among them two that read, 'The Church can't stop him so we must ...' and 'All paedophiles should be castrated ...'.

He described these comments as vitriolic, without restraint and a threat to kill and urged Magistrate Stafford to keep in place an order stopping the media from identifying the accused.

The court also heard terms such as, 'monster', 'rock spider' and 'rot in hell' had been irrationally directed at the Defendant on social media sites.